June 2, 2011
Black-capped Vireo male
Black-capped Vireo male
Getting a little jaded with local and regional birding?  Been to all the Arizona hotspots, out of state to SoCal and the Bosque, and maybe even to Texas and Florida, and you’re looking for a different kind of birding experience without leaving the country?  Let me tell you about a place that just may be birding’s best kept secret, a place that isn’t even on birding’s radar screen.  It’s not too far from home, has other worldly scenic beauty, interesting non-bird wildlife with a decidedly western flavor, and a fascinating suite of birds with a decidedly eastern flavor.  And here’s the secret—a highly sought, difficult to find species is more abundant and easier to see here than anyplace in the country.

Ever noticed the Wichita Mountains on a roadmap?  They’re not in Kansas, Dorothy.  Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge (WMNWR) is a wild and rugged 60,000 acre gem well off the beaten birders’ path 25 miles northwest of Lawton in southwestern Oklahoma.  WMNWR is bouldered granite mountains surrounding mixed grass prairies and cross timbered woodlands of oak and juniper  interspersed with creeks and lakes.  If you’re driving, it’s a little too far for a weekend.  If you’re flying, Oklahoma City is the access point.

Here’s a sampling of WMNWR’s historically interesting wildlife—650 Bison; 800 Elk, White-tailed Deer, a small herd of free ranging Texas Longhorns, and a roadside Black-tailed Prairie Dog town.  Here’s a sampling of WMNWR’s intriguing mix of East/West bird species—Carolina Wren/Canyon Wren, Red-shouldered Hawk/Swainson’s Hawk, Barred Owl/Burrowing Owl.  Chuck-will’s widows call at dawn and dusk, the refuge’s two breeding warbler species are Black-and-white and Louisiana Waterthrush, and Cassin’s Sparrows sing in the grasslands while Wild Turkeys gobble from the oak woods.

Painted Buntings, inarguably North America’s best avian eye candy, are literally everywhere, Turkey Vultures and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are “trash” birds, and Scissor-tailed Flycatchers line the fences.  Black-chinned is the default hummingbird.  One evening I sat on a creekside bluff watching Mississippi Kites hawk dragonflies above me while Northern Bobwhites called in the distance.

Alright, here’s the punchline you’ve been waiting for.  WMNWR and the adjoining Fort Sill military base have over 2,000 Black-capped Vireos.  As a lifelong birder with only a couple chance and fleeting views of this shy and endangered species, I’ve always figured the Texas Hill country west of Austin was where I could get good looks and possible photographs.  If you want this bird, don’t waste time in Texas!  In the week I spent at WMNWR, second week of May, I found a dozen territorial males by listening, most while hiking the trails, a few just driving the roads slowly.

Black-capped is unique among our vireos, the only one that is sexually dimorphic (the male is visually stunning), the only one that displays delayed plumage maturation, and the only one that is endangered.  Cowbird parasitism and habitat loss have extirpated it over most of its historically limited range in the lower Midwest, and WMNWR is managed specifically for this species and its restored mammalian species.  The best time for a visit is May through July.  I’d love to see it with autumn color, but bird diversity would be much lower without the spring breeders.

WMNWR is a “poor man’s Yellowstone,” and there is little or nothing about it in the birding literature.  If you’re a lister and you want Black-capped Vireo, or if you’re a nature lover looking for a different destination with historical relevance, wildlife, hiking, and landscape photo ops, you need this refuge on your to do list.

Black-capped Vireo male in shade

Black-capped Vireo male in shade

Black-capped Vireo male with caterpillar

Black-capped Vireo male with caterpillar